


its not my cup of tea, but you are

by amadeusofnohr



Series: FEmslash February 2019 [6]
Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Nohr route, Plotless, Slice of Life, Tea Drinking, shopping trips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-02-08
Packaged: 2019-10-24 16:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17708000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amadeusofnohr/pseuds/amadeusofnohr
Summary: Nyx goes into town looking for some magic herbs, and Charlotte tags along to help.(prompt: tea)





	its not my cup of tea, but you are

**Author's Note:**

> Because there's no reason Nyx needed to look like that aside from being freak bait, let's just let Nyx have been cursed at more like age 19/20, because that's plenty young to be constantly patronized to in-universe without being creepy

A bell chimes overhead as the door to the tiny shop swings open, beckoning in a brief burst of fresh air and sunlight. The store itself is old and musty, dimly lit, and crowded with handmade wooden shelves stacked haphazardly with strong smelling herbs threatening to fall from their precarious perches if the shelves are jostled too hard. In the corner, an old woman sits behind a counter, hands busy working a needle through a square of cloth.

Charlotte is unimpressed. “Definitely looks like how a weird magic shop should.”

Nyx snorts, not even sparing Charlotte a glance as she makes a beeline for a shelf and begins picking through the dried plants on it. “Your opinion is irrelevant. You’re welcome to leave if you don’t like it.”

Charlotte huffs and follows Nyx, peering over her shoulder with distaste. “I already said I’d come help you shop and carry your things, so stop trying to get rid of me. You do have to admit the place looks funny.”

Nyx sniffs one bundle, puts it down, and grabs another, examining the petals of its flowers carefully. “Atmosphere is important. I can sense the magic emanating from here, and it’s strong and pure. The ingredients will be perfectly sufficient for my causes.”

Charlotte relents and falls silent, leaving Nyx to her task. She swears the mage looks over literally every item on every single shelf before she finally does one last grand sweep through the store, plucking seemingly arbitrary herbs from each cluster and dumping them into the basket Charlotte came armed with.

It’s overflowing by the time Nyx finishes, and the shelves are now half-empty. The old lady raises a single eyebrow at the sight when Charlotte plunks the basket down in front of her.

“You have a good eye,” she says as she sizes up Nyx’s choices and cites the price.

“You don’t get far in this profession if you don’t.” Nyx replies shortly, dropping her coin into the woman’s hand. Charlotte snatches the basket back up, and away they go.

Back on the streets, Charlotte casts her gaze around. She did bring a bit of her own spending money, just in case, though she doubts anything here will be worth buying. The small town is surprisingly bustling out here, unlike the side alley they just came from. There’s quite a few stalls lining the main street, all lined with a colorful variety of trinkets and goods.

She glances back at Nyx. To her surprise, the other woman’s staring at one of the stalls. She didn’t think Nyx would be interested in things that weren’t either related to magic or weren’t books.

Charlotte puts a hand on Nyx’s arm to stop their walking, and pushes her towards the cart despite her immediate glare. Charlotte leans in, hand on hip, to squint at the vendor’s offerings.

“Tea, huh?” She nabs one of the tiny tea bags with her free hand and takes a whiff. Nasty. Nyx sighs and plucks the bag from Charlotte’s hand.

“I doubt it’s anything that interests you. And that’s not how you judge its flavor.”

“Yeah, ‘cause I’m not some kind of old crone, and I'm not a prissy noble either. Plenty of men have tried to be fancy and taken me to stupid little tea shops, and let me say, it all just tastes like dirty leaf water.”

“That’s probably because you’ve only been to disreputable places. Proper tea carries plenty of flavor.” Nyx places the bag down and points to another bag that, to Charlotte’s eye, is exactly identical to the first one. “That stuff there, it’s a traditional blend, and the leaves have been properly aged and treated. A soothing lavender flavor.”

Charlotte is still dubious. “You’re the expert, I guess.”

The shopkeep beams at them and chimes in, eager to make a sale. “Your friend here is quite the expert! Not many can recognize this on sight. It was all the rage a few decades ago, but now it’s rather rare. That makes it worth every penny. It’s a limited time offer!”

Nyx waves the man off, turning to face away from the stand. “If you’re just going to gawk, then let us be on our way.” Charlotte straightens up, ready to leave, but then she remembers that Nyx kind of  _ is  _ an old crone, and if she really is all knowledgeable about this random brand of tea, then she probably used to drink it a lot. Nyx also probably only budgeted for magic herbs, since that was the whole point of this little trip.

“Hey, wait a sec! If this stuff’s really so good, maybe it’ll change my mind. I might as well get a couple to try out.”

The shopkeeper is utterly delighted, even as Charlotte smiles sweetly and starts haggling the price down. Nyx puts on an air of exasperation as she waits, but Charlotte knows the good little girl act always amuses her.

They walk off with a small sack of the tea bags inserted carefully into their basket. Nyx’s arms are crossed, like she knows Charlotte’s up to something. Charlotte flashes her teeth in an innocent grin.

“Oh no! I forgot to ask how to brew it properly. I suppose I’ll have to ask around the army and see if anyone knows… otherwise I’d just ruin it...”

“Let me guess, the payment for the task will be a cup of tea?”

“Wow, what a good idea! That certainly seems fair, right?” Nyx rolls her eyes.

“I’ll show you how to steep it, but only this once. I’m not your mother.”

That’s perfectly fine with Charlotte, since she’s already planning the perfect times to surprise Nyx with a cup of the stuff. She has absolutely no intention of drinking any of it herself, because it smells even fouler than all Nyx’s weird magic plants combined.

Sure enough, two hours later, Charlotte finds herself faced with putrid, murky liquid. Nyx looks on expectantly, her own cup still steaming in front of her. Mentally bracing herself, Charlotte picks it up and takes a small sip.  _ Revolting _ . She forces herself to raise her eyebrows.

“You know, it’s actually pretty good. You can’t make me say that about any other flavors, but I guess I can have an exception.”

She isn’t sure if Nyx buys it, but she does pick up her portion of it and blow before raising it to her lips. The moment Nyx’s vision is blocked by the cup, Charlotte tilts her cup to the side and lets a tiny bit pour out onto the ground.

She spends the next thirty minutes chatting with Nyx and pretending to drink her tea. But the small smile and the quiet “thank you” that Nyx utters makes the whole ordeal worth it.

 


End file.
